OpenAI has introduced Sponsored Agents, a new ad format inside ChatGPT. After clicking a relevant ad, users can open a branded conversation with a business-sponsored AI agent instead of being sent straight to a website. The company is testing the feature with a limited group of U.S. advertisers that includes Angi and Wayfair.
This move stands as OpenAI’s largest step into advertising since it first began testing ads in ChatGPT in February. The ad business has already hit a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in fewer than 200 days.
How Sponsored Agents Work
When a relevant ad shows up in ChatGPT, the user can choose to start a clearly labeled conversation with the advertiser’s sponsored agent. Inside that chat the user can describe what they need, ask follow-up questions, and decide when to click through to the company’s website. OpenAI states that the sponsored conversation stays separate from ChatGPT’s own independent answers and from the user’s original chat thread.
Angi co-founder Angie Hicks described the pilot as a way for homeowners to move directly from talking about a home project inside ChatGPT to connecting with a skilled local professional. Wayfair is also taking part, looking at whether conversational commerce can help shoppers reach more informed buying decisions.
New Campaign Tools
At the same time, OpenAI released several tools meant to make ad creation simpler. An Ads Manager plugin lets advertisers write natural-language prompts inside ChatGPT to create, update, and review campaigns. AI-assisted creative tools can generate suggested copy and images drawn from an advertiser’s landing page. An optional text-customization feature adjusts headlines and descriptions to fit the conversation context and can translate the copy into the user’s preferred language.
First CRM and Ecommerce Partnerships
OpenAI also named its first CRM and ecommerce partners. HubSpot becomes the first CRM partner, so businesses can build ads, monitor results, and follow up on leads without leaving the HubSpot platform. Shopify is the first ecommerce partner. U.S. merchants can already manage ChatGPT ad campaigns through the Shopify App Store. The Shopify app will roll out to additional markets where ChatGPT Ads are available beginning September 23.
Expanding Reach of ChatGPT Ads
OpenAI’s advertiser page lists Newegg, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and VistaPrint among early participants. New advertisers receive $500 in ad credit after they spend $500. ChatGPT Ads now run in more than 40 countries, and self-service access is growing across India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
The Sponsored Agents format brings questions about where advertising ends and product discovery or customer service begins on AI platforms. Under OpenAI’s Ad Tools Terms, advertisers remain responsible for their agent’s content, configuration, and output.